"He never came asking for money": When Bobby Rahal shared his pride in Graham Rahal’s achievements

IndyCar driver Graham Rahal was hailed by his father Bobby Rahal during an interview published in 2019. The former IndyCar driver and current team owner Bobby explained his pride in his son's achievements as he detailed how the 36-year-old is a self-made man.

Bobby Rahal, during the interview with IndyCar, highlighted that Graham had always been a well-behaved kid and that the RLL driver was interested in business from a very young age. The team owner said that his son never took any financial help, and built the business empire by himself.

“If you knew Graham back then, where he is today would not surprise you. He started all of this stuff by himself. He never came asking for money to help start a business. I’m very proud of what he is achieving both on and off the track.”

Graham Rahal then commented on what a regular business day looks like for him as he said,

“I spend too much time working. I go to bed every night sending texts, sending emails at 1 a.m. about business, trying to complete a sale.”

“I like to think family comes first, and racing’s right there, and the rest of these things come next. But when you’ve got a lot of skin in the game on the rest of this stuff, it’s a bug in your ear. You’ve got to make it survive,” he added

Graham followed in Bobby Rahal's footsteps and drove for his father's team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the IndyCar series. Looking into the business side of things, Graham opened an automotive tuning and part shop in 2017 named Graham Rahal Performance. The 36-year-old is also a partner in his father's automotive group.

---

“A lot of near misses”: Graham Rahal highlighted major frustration over his recent results

2023 Grand Prix Of Long Beach - Acura Grand Prix Hosts Thunder Thursday At The Pike Outlets - Source: Getty

Graham Rahal has been racing in the IndyCar series for over 17 years and has only managed six wins in 278 races. The American last won a race in 2017 when he won back-to-back races at Detroit. Rahal reflected on the 2024 season and explained how luck plays a major part in motor racing. Detailing how things have not gone his way, he said (in October 2024, via IndyCar):

“I genuinely feel like on Sundays, I’m one of the best drivers out here. I really feel like when it comes to race day, there are not many drivers that can put a whole race together like I can. Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of near-misses, and that’s a major frustration when it continuously bounces the wrong direction.”

The 2025 IndyCar season begins on March 2nd at the Saint Petersburg Grand Prix with Louis Foster set to make his IndyCar debut for RLL alongside teammates Graham Rahal and Devlin DeFrancesco.